Will Richardson

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The “Future of Learning” Isn’t

August 28, 2017 By Will Richardson 6 Comments

Just read a headline that said “The Future of Learning to Be Revealed!”

And all could think of was, “fake news.”

This is the same tripe as when educators say stuff like “student learning has changed so much in the past decade” or “kids learn differently today.”

No. They really don’t. Nor will they learn differently in the future.

Learners have always learned, and will always learn in the same way. They learn what they are interested in. They learn what they need to learn. They learn those things that they want to learn more about.

Sure, the technologies have changed. Now the information is digital. The social aspects of learning have exploded. Knowledge is everywhere. It’s amazing, and it’s complex.

But can we stop with this line that says we have to change because learning has changed? It hasn’t. It won’t.

What has changed is this: learners now have more agency, more choice, more control over the what, when, why, and with whom of learning than ever before.

And if you’re thinking about the future of schooling, think more of that. More agency, not more technology.

Filed Under: On My Mind

Comments

  1. Susan says

    August 28, 2017 at 5:04 pm

    Thanks, Will.

    Reply
    • Assia says

      August 29, 2017 at 4:09 pm

      I agree; focus should be on helping learners develop agency to be independent ent learners

      Reply
      • ShelbyD says

        November 2, 2017 at 1:58 am

        I too agree that we should focus on helping to create independent learners. This idea is something I work on daily in my classroom. It can get tricky at times not to spoon-feed information, but to allow students the ability to find, create, and discover the learning on their own. I am a huge fan of technology in the classroom, but I completely agree with Will’s statement of “more agency, not more technology,” increasing the technology in the school will not enhance student learning and growth if there is not a reason and purpose behind it.

        Reply
  2. Ann S. Michaelsen says

    September 2, 2017 at 9:29 am

    My comment if you have time to read it! https://annmichaelsen.com/2017/09/02/what-is-your-compelling-reason/

    Reply
  3. Alisa King says

    June 12, 2018 at 3:27 am

    I was ready to argue the point that “student learning has changed so much in the past decade” or the “kids learn differently today”. And then, I kept reading. I agree 100% that learning still happens because of interest and the only thing that has truly changed that learning is the incorporation of technology. It has truly given us resources and place we could not have otherwise gone to. In another one of Richardson’s blogs he talks about focusing on serving students differently, not necessarily better.

    Reply
  4. Marissa Buzar says

    September 8, 2018 at 2:40 am

    As a newer teacher all I ever hear from the veteran teachers in my school is how much student learning has changed over the years. In conversation I politely disagree and explain my view that it’s not the the students’ learning that has changed it’s the environment around them has. This blog entry perfectly explains my view on how students learn.

    Reply

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